Zutara
by Leopardheart-Naux-Kadaj
Summary: ZukoXKatara oneshot I wrote. Not that long, kinda cheesy but I like it. R&R please.


**Here's my Zutara one-shot! I absolutely adore Zuko with his hunkyness and the ability to be awesome. And I think Katara is the best chick for him. :) Yes, I reject all cannon and substitute my own.**

**Enjoy! **

Katara couldn't trust him. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. He had caused too much damage to her and her friends. Why should she accept him? Because everyone else did? No, that wasn't reason enough. Not when Katara was the first to trust him, to like him. And he just turned his back on her. She thought he had changed, that he was different… that he… felt something other than anger toward her. And she was wrong.

How dare he try to regain her trust? That obnoxious, arrogant firebender acted as if Katara was being cold and unreasonable. Ha, he didn't even see what he did wrong. He thinks he didn't hurt her when he betrayed her. Katara tried to tell herself that the handsome heir to the throne hadn't hurt her. But he had. She had felt something for him. Pity, liking, trust…. But he ruined everything. He made the wrong choice, just as he always did.

Katara inwardly sighed. She knew she was being harsh deep down, but she also knew that the banished prince did have trouble choosing the right thing to do. Why did he have to come back? Why did his presence have to test her and what she knew?

The handsome firebender was on her mind all the time. Forgive him or don't? What is it that she truly feels for him? And she found herself unsure now. When he was away, she could easily say, "I hate him. He is untrustworthy. He is evil." But now that he is near her, she has her doubts. Because she remembered the time in Ba Sing Se, how he had been kind and sensitive. She had been willing to heal him, rid him of his scar. But he betrayed her, and that hurt more than either of them realized.

Maybe because…. Deep down…. She loved him. No, that was crazy talk! She couldn't love the banished prince of the Fire Nation! He was arrogant, selfish, obnoxious, mistrustful, handsome, sensitive, kind… Ugh! What was she thinking?

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe did not love Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation.

**... &...&...&...**

She didn't trust him. And it hurt Zuko to know she didn't. He didn't know why he valued her opinion so much, but he did. He wanted her to trust him, just like everyone else did. But the prince guessed it wasn't enough. Zuko remembered she had been the first to trust him before. And he had turned his back on her. He realized that must have hurt her. It must have been painful to trust someone and watch them walk away. He wished he could take it back.

Why did he always mess up? At everything he tried, something always went wrong. It always led to strife. And besides betraying his uncle, this hurt the worst. She had been the first "outsider" to know he had lost his own mother, and see his nicer side. Zuko remembered how her face had been changed from rage to sadness, then to a calm state when she offered to rid him of his scar. He thought she had felt something other than hate for him… but he was wrong, just as he always was.

For some reason, the waterbender girl was always on his mind. What did he really feel for her? Was it just pity because his people had destroyed something so close to her? Or was it something more? When he was gone from her, he remembered Mai, the girl he had grown up with, the girl who understood. But now that he was so near to the pretty waterbender, she stood out to him. He remembered what that short time had been like, when she didn't hate his guts and seemed like she felt….something for him. And he ruined it with making the wrong choice, just as he always seemed to do.

Maybe because… Deep down… He loved her. No, that was crazy talk! Zuko couldn't love the waterbender from the South Pole! She was cold, rude, hateful, beautiful, sweet, caring… Ugh! What was he thinking?

Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation did not love Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.

**A few days after Sozin's comet…**

Katara sat by the flowing fountain, looking at her rippling reflection. She had forgiven Zuko, saved his life and they were friends now. Aang loved her. They were all together in Ba Sing Se. She should be happy right? But there was something missing. And it confused her because she didn't know what was missing. She frowned at her reflection.

Zuko was taking a stroll through the town alone, that way he could think clearly. Katara had forgiven him, saved his life and they were friends now. He had settled things with Iroh. Mai loved him. They were all together in Ba Sing Se. He should be happy right? But something was missing and he wasn't sure what. He sighed.

Zuko rounded a corner and saw Katara sitting there on the side of the fountain. She looked lonely and confused.

He walked up to her and said, "Hey Katara."

Startled by his sudden appearance, the green-robed waterbender toppled backwards into the fountain with a shout. She turned and looked at Zuko, annoyed.

His amber, unscarred eye was wide with surprise. "I'm sorry! I thought you heard me coming."

The new Fire Lord held out his hand to her to help her out. Light blue eyes narrowed in annoyance, she grabbed his arm and stood up. Zuko pulled her out of the fountain and she stood beside him, dripping wet.

"Hey, Zuko," she returned his greeting while trying to squeeze the water out of her long, dark hair.

"I was just out on a walk and saw you. You looked lonely, so I stopped to say hey," Zuko said.

"I'm not lonely! I was just thinking," Katara defended.

"Thinking about what?" Zuko asked curiously.

Katara looked away from the golden-gazed firebender. "Things…people…"

"So was I before I saw you next to the fountain," Zuko replied. After a silence he added, "It's beautiful out here."

"Ba Sing Se is a beautiful city," Katara agreed.

"Zuko—" "Katara—"

The two blushed as they both spoke at the same time on accident.

"You go first," Zuko insisted.

Katara looked into Zuko's warm golden eyes and she knew what she had to say. They bother realized as bright luminous blue and darkish amber met what had been missing before. Something sparked between them and they both knew the other one felt it.

"So much has changed between us. I hated you before getting to know you. I thought the only thing I felt for you was pity. But I realized, it was something more," Katara didn't realize what she was saying. It was as if her heart was speaking and not her mind.

Zuko stepped closer to the drenched woman, so that they were mere few inches apart. "I thought I'd never feel this way about someone so different. But I realized we are more alike than we realized," the Fire Lord continued what Katara began, his heart speaking for him instead of his mind.

"And I've come to know," Katara looked up at him as he looked down on her, their gazes connecting.

"That I love you," the pair murmured together. "You were the thing I was missing. And now I'm finally complete."

Zuko tipped his head, Katara stood on her tip-toes and their lips touched for a soft, tender kiss. Katara reached up and wrapped her arms around Zuko's neck while pressing against him. Zuko wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her close, despite that the waterbender was soaking wet.

That didn't matter; nothing did right then. Not that they were opposites, water and fire, royalty and peasant, moon and sun, day and night.

Only that love had found a way. Fire Lord Zuko and Katara discovered the beginning of their love in Ba Sing Se.

**So, whatcha think? **

**~Leo-Naomi**


End file.
